6 ms·

No, inflation is a monetary and political phenomenon. Companies cannot set prices arbitrarily, in particular not the fast food industry which faces what is prob

by Barrin92 11mo ago

No, inflation is a monetary and political phenomenon. Companies cannot set prices arbitrarily, in particular not the fast food industry which faces what is probably the strongest competition on the planet. The entire restaurant industry does not collude on the prices of burgers. In this particular case it's wage-push inflation. The lowest quintile of workers has seen very strong wage gains among other reasons because of tight labour markets and minimum wage legislation, which on the consumer side prices a lot of people out of the service economy.

nawgz 11mo ago
> Companies cannot set prices arbitrarily [Source required] Edit: how are you downvoting me? Go look at corporate profit margins now, 10 years ago, and 40 years ago. If you believe you can hand wave with simplified BS like "Supply and Demand" you probably have some heavy reading on price elasticity to catch up on.
- jameslk 11mo ago
  [flagged]
  - nawgz 11mo ago
    [flagged]
    - deleted 11mo ago
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  - skinnymuch 11mo ago
    Then why are profit margins bigger? Supply and demand as the reason for profit percentage increasing margin makes no sense. I’d be interested in how you’d debate that.
    - deleted 11mo ago
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    - jameslk 11mo ago
      > Supply and demand as the reason for profit percentage increasing margin makes no sense. I’d be interested in how you’d debate that. That was never my argument. The commenter I responded to edited his comment to add those points after I replied. This was his comment before: > Companies cannot set prices arbitrarily [Source required]
      - nawgz 11mo ago
        That is pretty obvious from where it says “Edit:”, what isn’t obvious is how Supply and Demand prevents companies from setting prices arbitrarily. Which is and always was what your comment said.
forgotoldacc 11mo ago
That's a nice excuse from the executives, but it doesn't align with reality. McDonald's profits have been rising every year. [1] If those dastardly minimum wage workers and their fat paychecks were putting even the slightest bit of pressure on struggling McDonald's, the expectation would be some sort of reduction in profit. But it's the total opposite. Profits are outpacing whatever losses they're (not) experiencing from whatever supposed wage increases they have. [1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonald-q3-2025-profit-sales-104611714.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonald-q3-2025-profit-sales...
- jameslk 11mo ago
  What are McDonald’s profits adjusted for inflation?
  - pseudalopex 11mo ago
    McDonald's net margin doubled from 16% to 32% in 10 years.[1] [1] https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MCD/mcdonalds/profit-margins https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MCD/mcdonalds/prof...
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skinnymuch 11mo ago
You’re repeating generic right wing-ish talking points. Yet profit margins have increased. If your reasoning was correct, profit margins wouldn’t be increasing as they are.

nawgz 11mo ago

> Companies cannot set prices arbitrarily [Source required] Edit: how are you downvoting me? Go look at corporate profit margins now, 10 years ago, and 40 years ago. If you believe you can hand wave with simplified BS like "Supply and Demand" you probably have some heavy reading on price elasticity to catch up on.

jameslk 11mo ago
[flagged]
- nawgz 11mo ago
  [flagged]
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]
- skinnymuch 11mo ago
  Then why are profit margins bigger? Supply and demand as the reason for profit percentage increasing margin makes no sense. I’d be interested in how you’d debate that.
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]
  - jameslk 11mo ago
    > Supply and demand as the reason for profit percentage increasing margin makes no sense. I’d be interested in how you’d debate that. That was never my argument. The commenter I responded to edited his comment to add those points after I replied. This was his comment before: > Companies cannot set prices arbitrarily [Source required]
    - nawgz 11mo ago
      That is pretty obvious from where it says “Edit:”, what isn’t obvious is how Supply and Demand prevents companies from setting prices arbitrarily. Which is and always was what your comment said.

forgotoldacc 11mo ago

That's a nice excuse from the executives, but it doesn't align with reality. McDonald's profits have been rising every year. [1] If those dastardly minimum wage workers and their fat paychecks were putting even the slightest bit of pressure on struggling McDonald's, the expectation would be some sort of reduction in profit. But it's the total opposite. Profits are outpacing whatever losses they're (not) experiencing from whatever supposed wage increases they have. [1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonald-q3-2025-profit-sales-104611714.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonald-q3-2025-profit-sales...

jameslk 11mo ago
What are McDonald’s profits adjusted for inflation?
- pseudalopex 11mo ago
  McDonald's net margin doubled from 16% to 32% in 10 years.[1] [1] https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MCD/mcdonalds/profit-margins https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/MCD/mcdonalds/prof...
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]

skinnymuch 11mo ago

You’re repeating generic right wing-ish talking points. Yet profit margins have increased. If your reasoning was correct, profit margins wouldn’t be increasing as they are.